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Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Welcome to the New Millenium or A/C in Busses ! What Will They Think of Next ?

I would have thought that all bus's if not most busses nowadays would be air conditioned Imagine those hot humid sticky Montreal summer days,with swealtering heat & you are on a bus with 50 other people jammed in ,all of you just tolerating the ride home........Wow I had forgotten that old scenario,I have had occasion to be on a bus here in Victoria and all the double decker bus's have A/C, I don't know if all busses have it,but they should,especially in Montreal.it would be greatly appreciated by all the users.. here's this mornings Gazette story about Montreal's new busses....

MONTREAL - As you board a packed bus in the middle of a July mini-heat wave, ask yourself: Would you be willing to pay more for your commute if this rolling hotbox was air-conditioned?

Well, the Société de transport de Montréal has been putting the question to its riders this month – and polling them while they are travelling on buses that are, in fact, air-conditioned.

Riders on Routes 24 (Sherbrooke), 10 (De Lorimier), 103 (Monkland), 165 (Côte des Neiges), 173 (métro bus Victoria), 535 (Park Ave./Côte des Neiges reserved lane) and the 747 Express to Trudeau airport have been met on their AC-equipped ride by STM workers asking them to fill out a survey on whether they would favour the installation of air conditioning on buses.

Each bus line has had one air-conditioned vehicle added to its route.

Riders are asked whether they are willing to pay more for the comfort of air conditioning and whether they’re concerned about its effect on the transit authority’s carbon footprint.

The poll suggests the STM, which last year dismissed air-conditioned buses as too expensive, might be re-thinking its position.

The poll is part of the fallout from a controversy that began last summer by the opposition Projet Montréal party at city hall.

The party tabled a motion in council noting that New York City’s new subway cars and buses are air-

conditioned, and that air conditioning does not seem to appear on the STM’s call for tenders for new métro cars.

It urged the transit authority to ensure that new subway cars are air-conditioned.

But the STM argued that its studies showed it would cost about $20 million to equip its buses with air conditioning units and an additional $5 million annually to maintain them.

Fuel consumption would increase by about 25 per cent, while exhaust from the air conditioning units and the buses themselves would create about 3,200 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.

The costs for an air-conditioned métro: $50 million to equip the cars and a little under $2 million annually to maintain the units.

An earlier survey conducted for the STM found that air conditioning was a priority of only 14 per cent of métro users. Among bus users, AC ranked 12th as a priority.

Tremblay said on Tuesday that the costs of running air-conditioned buses on the test routes will be examined along with the poll data to determine whether there is strong demand for air conditioning and, if so, whether the cash-strapped transit authority can afford it.

She reiterated there are no plans to air-condition métro cars or stations.

Would you be willing to pay more for public transit if you were guaranteed an air-conditioned bus ride? Tell us in the comments box below

Hey here you go a ride on tne # 108 from Verdun to Atwater Market through the tunnel, Now We all have taken that ride at some point,on both the #107 Verdun or the #108 Bannatyne...We probably all remember when they were both designated as bus route # 7 or #8 ..........before they added the 10- to the route number.

here's a shot with the other sign too, look at the top left side of the sign just above the doors,there is an Eskimo leaning over, & that sign says " it's Cool Inside"........lol I remember only a few cars ever having A/C in those days ( and it wasn't ours..........hahahaha)or when you got on a bus ,if you could ,you headed directly for one of the 'single seats by the window' so you could get a bit of a breeze.........Ahhhhhhh Growing up in Verdun. Cheers

The buses we drive out here in Vancouver, when new, some of them were equipped with A/C, but was removed upon arrival. Vancouver has to keep up with their reputation of "going green," but like I tell everyone....."The only thing going green here in transit land are the drivers." I've heard some of the Victoria and highway buses have A/C. If temperatures keep rising, I think they really have to consider installing or keeping the A/C. I work nights to avoid the heat of the summer and can't imagine how horrid it must be to work behind that big glass windshield with the sun beaming on you.

The buses we drive out here in Vancouver, when new, were equipped with A/C, well some of them were but the A/C was quickly removed upon arrival. Vancouver has to keep up with their reputation of "going green," but like I tell everyone....."The only thing going green here in transit land are the drivers." I've heard some of the Victoria and highway buses have A/C. If temperatures keep rising, I think they really have to consider installing or keeping the A/C. I work nights to avoid the heat of the summer and can't imagine how horrid it must be to work behind that big glass windshield with the sun beaming on you.

Hi Sandra ,onesmac, some of the routes here all use the double deckers & so far any I've ever been on were equipped with A/C ,your right I could imagine how hot it must be behind that huge windshield.A coupe of routes here actually run right from downtown right out to the ferries,a nice long stretch of highway run.......which would seem like a good route to get I think,rather than manouvreing around downtown with the traffic & pedestrians etc etc Cheers ! HF&RV

Hi ya!I was on that bus from the ferry to downtown vic. Nice ride. I think it stopped in Sidney. I would love that route if I worked there. I almost did before they made us two separate companies. Smac

It's been that way for a few years now. Before, we did a sign-up called consolidated where you could switch to what ever depot you wanted to, for a year. Somehow we ended up with a different union. I think Victoria wanted to stay with the BC transit union and we went with CAW. Then they changed our name to Coast Mt. Bus Company, while Victoria kept the good ol name of British Columbia Transit Company.

Aha.......I do recall the name Coast Mt Bus Company, & I always thought that was a separate company that did tours & stuff,sort of like the old Pacific Coach Lines that had the large coach style busses here on VI . Thanks for the clarification. So Sandra I guess when you retire,the last thing you want to do ,would be to buy a motorhome coach & Drive ..........lol Are you a Million Mile Driver by now ? You must have incredible patience to drive a bus in a big city,and deal with every walk of life...at least you drive in scenic place,the mountains are fantastic,& that's something I have never tired of living out here,is seeing the snowcaps,I always stop & have a good look ( sort of my version of stopping to smell the roses.......lol) ~~~~~ Cheers ~~~~~ HF&RV

Hi, Yes the snow covered peaks.....a scene I'm sill amazed to view. There is this Ahhh factor to seeing the snowcaps on a clear day. Us East coast folks really appreciate the beauty of BC, along with the fabulous ocean views. I had to chuckle when you wrote that you thought the name CMBC was a tour line. lol My exact feelings for the bogus name. Hey it's all owned by Translink. The name just makes it sound like it's a separate company. You're correct in stating we have nice scenes to look at while driving....yes Main and Hastings is one of the more glorious scenes to experience. hahaha The job is very difficult on many aspects. We have this common remark about the company. " They hire you then try to fire you". We all work very hard and deal with so much stress, but get very little recognition for it, but the minute you do one thing wrong they are on you like ham on rye. I've come close to quitting a few times in the past three years. Twenty years!!!And no you're wrong about the motorhome.....would love one and a man to go along with it...to drive of course. lol

Sandra ,don't let them bug you into quitting, that's what they like when they can cut benefits when you are so close to getting all you earned, Don't play their game,see it through,and you have the last laugh. ....and when they bug you ,Remember that video you liked from the "Life of Brian" movie ......"don't grumble just whistle"............hahahahaha

"I can't help but imagine you driving along on Monday & whistling".......lol A;ways look on the bright side of life..................Cheers ! HF&RV

Amazing that a/c on buses is not a priority for the public transport users in Montreal. I wouldn't even step foot on a bus or train unless it was air conditioned....then again, I live in one of the hottest (summer) cities on the planet!...Diane